Southside with You

2016

BiographyDramaRomance

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Synopsis

The film chronicles the summer 1989 afternoon when the future President of the United States of America Barack Obama wooed his future First Lady Michelle Obama on a first date across Chicago's South Side.

The film chronicles the summer 1989 afternoon when the future President of the United States of America Barack Obama wooed his future First Lady Michelle Obama on a first date across Chicago's South Side.

Tech specs

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by subxerogravity9 / 10

Very romantic story about the president and his first lady

When I saw the trailer a few mouths back I knew I had to see it. It was
just about a random women preparing to go out with a college from work,
then you discover she's Michelle Robinson and her colleague is Barack
Obama.It was the best first date every caught on picture. I like the fact that I feel I did not learn anything new about the
President of the United States. Southside with You has taken the man
I've seen for the past 8 years and put that personality on celluloid
accurately to what I already know. There was no surprise coming as
Barack explain to Michelle his anger towards his father, his upbringing
before college, and where he wants his life to go. Brilliantly played
by Parker Sawyers, Barry O is easy to parody, but Sawyers was able to
really capture the man without doing that.What I also liked about the movie is what it told me about Michelle
Robinson, a strong black woman also trying to find her way in life. Not
satisfied with where her life is going and knowing she wants more out
of it. Tika Sumpter did a good job show casing a career orientated
woman focus on being more than just the black woman at her law firm and
feeling a relationship with Obama would change that. Making her stand
offish at first to his natural charm.It's funny. It's a tale as old as time: boy likes girl, girl's not
having it, boy tricks girl into date, girl keeps saying it's not a
date, and boy has to put on the charm in order to win girl's heart.
However, the two people they chose to tell this tale on bring a flavor
to it that's uncanny.Very quiet, but well structured. Not nearly as impactful as the two
people it's about, but real good portrait of a iconic love affair.http://cinemagardens.com

Reviewed by mharah9 / 10

Very unfortunate effort

This is one of the worst films I've ever seen. And it's not that it's
about the Obamas, or that it's political (it's not), or even that it is
almost unbelievable (in spite of the fact that everything really did
happen at some point). It's that the producer-writer-director is so
obviously infatuated with the Obamas that he ended up making a movie
which comes off as one big, fat, sloppy kiss. The movie spans one
afternoon and evening. There's no conflict, there's no character
development, there's no new information. The actors are well cast, and
they do the best they can with what they're given. That may make for a
sweet photo montage, but it doesn't tell a story (which has already
been told many times anyway). Even if every incident depicted happened
in the space of one day (which they almost certainly did not), no one
would believe it. If there is one cliché that was missed, there was no
place left to put it. If there was room for one more tracking shot, the
audience would fall asleep. In short, if you are head-over-heels in
love with the Obamas, you may love this outing. Otherwise....

Reviewed by AdultAudienceMember9 / 10

Not as exciting as watching paint dry.

The Kennedys had Camelot. The Carters had the peanut farm. The Johnsons
had The Ranch. All of them were created for sycophantic followers who
just had to believe the a Kennedy was faithful, the Carter was just one
of them, and the Johnsons were honest. Southside is the same genre. M &
B are omg just like us and they are so cute and wow aren't they so
smart. Fact is that this has less reality when it comes to tone than
Bambi is the definitive work on the life cycle of white tail deer. Two
types will go see this. Those who are already hooked on the Obama crack
pipe and those who are forced to enter the theater to avoid some sort
of apocalypse outside. It is pure dreck.

Reviewed by secretzfan9 / 10

A weak and try hard attempt at romance

Southside with You tries to tell the romantic story of Obama and
Michelle's relationship by giving us a deep look into the lives of the
future best family in the U.S, but sadly it falters a bit as it tries
to make the romance interesting with thought provoking debates about
the world and there clashing ideals. The film just lacks a lot of focus
on what it wants to really be and how much of the story it wants to
tell. The acting is actually the best part of the film as Tika Sumpter and
Parker Sawyers really try there best to the weak script compelling and
interesting to see. There chemistry is quite incompatible and makes for
a fun and engaging experience to see portrayed on the screen. But good chemistry can't save a pretty meh script and pretty average
directing done by Richard Tanne. The film just can't engage you enough
and instead feels dull and also really boring to watch as well.Overall Southside by You tries to be interesting but misses the mark